Family Secrets

For most of her life, Darcy’s identity is a mystery. Who’s her mother? Who’s her father? And who, in the end, is she?

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A childhood rife with political upheavel, violence and loss. An adulthood overtaken by distrust and manipulation. And then, finally, the truest friend and companion -- a Jack Russell terrier named Coco--helps Fatima break free and discover the joy that awaits her.

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When tragedy befalls Laurie’s crowded family, she and her eight remaining siblings—and their deeply detached and peculiar parents—must navigate the unthinkable. And too, the unsayable—because in this haunted home, nothing is said at all.

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First: a hidden sibling. Then: an unbelievably harrowing hostage situation. As Mimi moves through life, she must confront the scarring secrets stacked against her.

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Growing up, Jackie is a self-described “girl’s girl” in family full of women - surrounded by her sister, mother, and several loving aunts. But a generational secret has been kept, and Jackie will slowly learn that she is deeply impacted by this secret and the silence surrounding it — one that shapes her life from the inside out. 

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A seemingly perfect marriage—a whole life—shatters overnight when Belle discovers her husband’s betrayal and uncovers the silences and stories that have come to define her. As everything collapses, she must decide whether to protect the narrative she’s been handed or finally confront the truth.

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Join us for a new season of Family Secrets. We're back with 10 new stories starting May 7th.

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A message from Dani, with an update on the next season of Family Secrets.

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After being coerced into homeschool by a mother whose love threatens to consume him, Stefan must confront how an isolated childhood shrouded in secrecy will shape his life.

Stefan Merrill Block's memoir is titledHomeschooled.

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Marion and Tony are madly, deeply in love. But there are obstacles to their relationship, namely Tony’s sexual preference. When Tony loses his life to AIDS, Marion discovers just how many obstacles there really were.

This year is the 30th Anniversary of Marion Winik's memoir, First Comes Love.

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In his locked study, Dorothy’s father works on his book. For years. And years. And years. But it’s not until after his death that Dorothy uncovers the secrets in between its unfinished pages.

Dorothy Roberts is the author of The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family.

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Karen vanishes with her children to escape a violent marriage, erasing a life in order to save it. But eventually, when it’s safe—if it’s safe—she must come out of hiding.

Karen Palmer's book, She's Under Here, is out now.

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In 1998, long before Dani discovered the truth of her biological paternity, she published a story called “The Secret Wife” about the discovery of her father’s second wife, a secret marriage that had been hidden for decades. Today, she reads and reflects on this story—the uncovering of thesilent grief and buried histories that shaped her. 

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When Francesca sets out to understand her father’s past, she is faced with a world of crime, silence, and denial. But it’s not just his past she must reckon with; it’s her present, her inheritance of a story no one wanted to tell.

Francesca Fontana is the author of The Family Snitch.

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Sam grows up without knowing his biological father. As he enters adolescence, he begins to resemble Bob Dylan. A lot. So when Sam learns his mother had a brief relationship with Dylan in the 70s, the cascade of questions begins to flow.

Sam Sussman's book, Boy from the North Country, is out now.

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After centuries of ancestral trauma, Julian must listen closely to the stories of his family —stories of survival, memory, myth and generations of erasure—in order to discover the story of himself.

Julian Brave NoiseCat's book, We Survived the Night, is out now.

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When Amanda’s parents’ eccentricities take a dark turn toward hoarding, scheming, and secret-keeping, the walls begin to literally close in on her. As the chaos and deceit grows in volume around her, she must figure out how to escape.

Amanda Uhle's book is titled Destroy This House.

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When Kate begins to recover haunting memories, she must confront a family history shaped by silence and generational harm. What follows is her quest to piece together the truth and reclaim a stolen childhood.

Kate Price's book, This Happened to Me: A Reckoning, is out now.

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Ari’el has spent his life playing characters, trying on different identities. But at a certain point he must discover who—beneath all these competing selves—he truly is. 

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